Buildings are commonly comprised of a frame to which a roof, exterior walls, and interior walls and ceilings are attached. The interior walls and ceilings are commonly formed using sheets of drywall material that are attached to frame, usually by screws. Gaps are normally formed between adjacent sheets of drywall material. In addition, the screws are countersunk slightly, and the screw heads are visible.
To hide the gaps and screw heads, they are covered with tape and/or drywall compound and sanded so that the interior surfaces (wall and ceiling) are smooth and continuous. The interior surfaces are then primed for further finishing.
After the priming step, a texture material is often applied to interior surfaces before painting. The texture material forms a bumpy, irregular surface that is aesthetically pleasing. The textured interior surface also helps to hide irregularities in the interior surface.
Some interior surfaces, especially ceilings, are covered with a special type of texture material referred to as acoustic texture material. Acoustic texture material contains particulate material that adheres to the interior surface. The purpose of the particulate material is partly aesthetic and partly functional. The particles absorbs rather than reflects sound and thus can reduce echo in a room. The term "acoustic" texture material is used because of the sound absorptive property of this type of texture material.
When repairs are made to interior walls and ceilings, the texture material often must be reapplied. The newly applied texture material should match the original texture material.
A number of products are available that allow the application of texture material in small quantities for the purpose of matching existing texture material. In addition to hopper based dispensing systems, texture material may be applied in small quantities using aerosol systems. With conventional texture material that does not include particles, a variety of oil and water based texture materials in aerosol dispensing systems are available.
Acoustic texture materials pose problems that have heretofore limited the acceptance of aerosol dispensing systems. In particular, most acoustic texture materials contain polystyrene chips that dissolve in commercially available aerosol propellant materials. Thus, conventional aerosol propellant materials are not available for use with acoustic texture materials.
The Applicants have sold since approximately 1995 a product that employs compressed inert gas, such as air or nitrogen, as the propellant. The compressed gas does not interact with the particles in the acoustic texture material. The compressed air resides in the upper portion of the aerosol container and forces the acoustic texture material out of the container through a dip tube that extends to the bottom of the container.
While commercially viable, the use of compressed inert gas to dispense acoustic texture material from an aerosol container assembly presents several problems. First, if the aerosol system is operated while inverted, the compressed inert gas escapes and the system becomes inoperative. Second, the compressed inert gas can force all of the acoustic texture material out of the aerosol container in a matter of seconds. An inexperienced user can thus inadvertently and ineffectively empty the entire container of acoustic texture material.
The Applicants are also aware of an aerosol product that sprays a foam material instead of a true acoustic texture material. The foam material does not contain particulate material, and thus the resulting texture formed does not match an existing coat of true acoustic texture material.
The need thus exists for a system for dispensing acoustic texture material that provides the convenience of an aerosol dispensing system, employs true acoustic texture material, and is easily used by inexperienced users.